A series of responses to why millennials aren't fans of church

Introduction.   Before I get to the individual points, I’ll deal with his introductory material.

Clearly there is a lot of material that won’t get covered in detail, but I hope to hit some of the high points and specifically areas of agreement (at least partial). 

“It seems all-too-often our churches are actually causing more damage than good, and the statistics are showing a staggering number of millennials have taken note.”

Clearly, this statement is a huge overstatement.  It’s so general and unsupported that it really has little value and probably serves to undercut any future positive things he has to say.   The best he has is his citation of a study about what millennials “believe” to be the case.    Simply because someone believes something, doesn’t make it true.

“Where is the task-force searching for the lost generation?  Where is the introspective reflection necessary when 1/3 of a generation is anti-church?”

One answer to the first question is Fuller Seminary. A couple of answers to the second question are, the Twin Cities metro area and Omaha.  I’m quite sure there are others.  One must wonder how hard the author actually looked before asking his questions.

Probably the biggest problem in interacting with the piece in question is the tendency of the author to address things in broad sweeping generalities with a generous dose of hyperbole thrown in.   His treatment of both “the church” and “millennials” as if they are monolithic homogenous entities makes serious discourse difficult.   Because when someone says “No one is doing…”, all that is necessary to falsify the claim is to point out one example of that particular thing being done.  Also, it’s abundantly clear that there are churches across the country doing (or trying to do) virtually everything he addresses.  The question becomes, “Why not find the churches heading in the direction you manifesto suggests, and point them out for praise?”.   This is a valid and important question I believe, but one that will probably not be answered with any specificity.  It’s obviously easier to point out what you perceive as wrong, instead of searching out and encouraging what you think is right.

Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out the recent study that shows that roughly 30% of millennials still live with their parents.  While there certainly are extenuating circumstances, I’d suggest that any generation who have such a high degree of dependence might not be the best example to follow.

Finally, I’ll say that for years people have said that Christianity is always one generation from extinction, and I believe that to be true.  So, clearly reaching this generation is critical.   Unlike the author, I look at the student/young adults in leadership positions, as well as my son and his friends who are actively engaged in preparing for ministry and leadership roles both in and out of church, and I think that maybe there’s hope after all.   I also want to state up front that this is a conversation that I am very much involved in at an actual church in the real world, this isn't theory.  I truly want to have this discussion and hope that there are answers.